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  “You weren’t hurt, were you?” she asked after a short hiss of pain when Dr. Weathers pressed on a rather tender spot as he continued to lightly poke around the bandaged area.

  “No, the bullet grazed my arm also, but you have to remember, vampires heal a lot faster. Even if the bullet had found its mark in me, doc would have just dug it out before the skin knitted back together, and called it a day.”

  “Cassie,” Dr. Weathers interrupted. “I’m afraid it’s been a long time since I have treated any humans, so please, if you are in pain, please tell me. I am used to dealing with these rangers who get shot up and injured as part of their job, but because they are vampires, other than patching them up and giving them an extra pint or two of blood, that’s about all that’s required. I have no problem giving you something for pain, you just have to tell me.”

  Cassie assured the kind doctor she would let him know if she needed anything for the pain. He also inquired about her back, but since she was moving around and hadn’t experienced any pain, they were going to assume she was okay.

  Once Dr. Weathers left the room, Donte picked up her hand and brushed his lips against her knuckles. “Cassie, I can’t lose you, cariño. We haven’t even had the chance to fully mate yet.” The emotions warring within his eyes said a lot. Today’s incident had just been too close. If he and Kade had arrived just two minutes later, hell, even one minute later, it would have been too late. He would have either watched her die, or turned her into a vampire. He didn’t want to look at that ultimatum. He kind of liked her quirky human habits, including her grumpiness in the morning, and her sexy as hell moan every morning as she took that first sip of coffee.

  “You saved me, Donte. Thank you. So, since we know it is Gregory, and we know he is out to kill, what do we do to stop him?”

  Donte sat down on the edge of the bed, being careful not to jar her hip. “Walter and I talked, and here is what we decided. Up to a few months ago, Meredith was living up here in a tiny apartment that Walter set up for her. She was a witness to a murder that involved one of our kind, and he was dead set to kill her. Walter hid her up here for several months and none of us even knew she was up here. Of course now that she’s mated to Lucas, and we caught up with the murderer and took care of him, the apartment is empty.

  “Walter wants you and I to stay there for the time being. There are no windows in it, so you would be completely safe. He is also going to rotate rangers to act as security on off hours, just on the off chance Gregory decides to do something stupid and brings back up.”

  “Okay, but what about Betty? Isn’t she in just as much danger as I am?” Cassie inquired, a frisson of fear going up her spine at the thought of Gregory going after her best friend.

  “Yes and no. Walter and I believe Gregory will go after Betty at some point, but what he doesn’t know is she’s a vampire now, which makes killing her a hell of a lot harder.” Donte stopped and chuckled lightly before continuing, “I’d actually pay good money to see the look on that bastard’s face if comes face to face with Betty and realizes he has bitten off more than he can handle.

  “But, in answer to your question, yes, she is still at risk. When I left to come back in here with you there was a heated debate going on between Samuel, Betty, and Walter over Samuel and Betty staying in another area the team is quickly turning into another tiny apartment.”

  “Betty doesn’t want to stay here where it’s safe?” Cassie questioned, trying to figure out why her friend would not want to play it safe.

  Donte gave her a smirk. “I think the heated discussion was more about Samuel staying with her.” There was laughter in his eyes, and she knew there was more to the story. She’d have to corner her friend later and get the real scoop on things.

  Chapter Seven

  Donte carried her down the hall to a closed door at the end. By the time Dr. Weathers released her to get up and move around, the team of females had straightened up what used to be Meredith’s tiny apartment, the one she had used when Walter was hiding her from Eddie and his goons. It had been sitting empty ever since Eddie was captured and terminated and she moved in with her mate Lucas.

  Donte reached down and opened the door to what was going to be their new home for a while. He certainly didn’t enjoy ‘hiding’ out at all, but when it came to his mate’s health and wellbeing, he would do whatever was necessary.

  He walked over to the couch in the corner of the room and gently placed Cassie on it. When he went to stand up straight after releasing her, she stopped him with her hand.

  “Donte, how is this supposed to work? I don’t even have a change of clothes, and now that Walter has deemed it too dangerous for Betty and myself to be out and about, I can’t expect her to come to my rescue like she did when I first arrived.”

  Donte sat down next to her on the couch. “Lucas and Meredith went over to my place and brought back clothes, toiletry items, movies and yes, I made sure to list your coffee pot and coffee.”

  He chuckled as he remembered that first morning she had woken up to no coffee or coffee pot in the house. Nathaniel and Susan had been gracious enough to go out and buy a nice one for her and delivered it after they had arrived home that night. Cassie and Susan had gushed over the different types of coffee they had purchased as Cassie had promptly unboxed the machine and cleaned it well. Then, even though it was late in the evening, she brewed the first pot of coffee. The blissful look on her face as she took that first sip had his cock hard as steel, wishing he could be her coffee cup.

  “Okay, but I know Walter isn’t going to let me sit up front any more, and I totally understand that, but, Donte, I don’t want to lose my job.”

  He gently brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen to her face with his fingers. “Cariño, you are aware that as my mate you don’t need to work, right? I make plenty enough for us to live comfortable, and in fact have quite a healthy nest egg.” He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips for a soft kiss. “I just want you happy and safe, love.”

  She softened under his words and graced him with a smile. “I understand that, Donte, and I appreciate everything you have done for me, honestly I do, but to sit here day in and day out doing nothing is not something I can do. I’ll go mad!

  “Let me ask you something. If someone was after you and Walter placed the same restrictions on you, would you just go along with it?”

  She knew him well enough to know there was no way Donte Chaverez would sit holed up in a tiny apartment for months on end while someone else went looking for the bad guy.

  “No, I wouldn’t, and I guess it isn’t going to sway you to remind you Walter would never put those restrictions on me simply because I am a vampire and am very hard to kill.”

  “No, it won’t, because even vampires aren’t infallible. I’ve spoken with Meredith and she told me how Lucas came in here a few short months ago after he’d been attacked.”

  “Okay, love, point taken, and honestly, I already told Walter you weren’t going to settle for this. So, how about this, we stay here when I’m not on duty. When I am on duty, you can continue working, but you’ll have to do it from the lounge area, which is being set back up as an office as we speak.”

  Cassie reached over and playfully punched him in the arm, only to rub her other hand across her sore knuckles afterwards. He just raised an eyebrow at her.

  “Don’t cock that eyebrow at me, Mr. Chaverez, you knew all along everything had been taken care of, the least you could have done was told me and kept me from worrying if I was losing my job.”

  Donte leaned over and kissed the end of her nose. “I know, and I apologize. You are just too damn cute when you get all riled up.” He stopped for a moment and shook his head.

  “What’s the matter?” Cassie questioned.

  “Did that just constitute as our first disagreement?”

  “Maybe, I don’t know, why?”

  “Well, don’t couples usually have make up sex after an argument?” He wiggled h
is eyebrows up and down suggestively at her.

  She rolled her eyes at him as she chuckled. “You men. Is that all you ever think about?”

  And just like that he flipped an internal switch and was back to being serious again. He wrapped his arms around her and brought her up snugly to his chest. “It might be all that others think about, but this is much more importante than just sex, mi amor.”

  “I was only kidding a minute ago, Donte. But I am ready. I’m ready to be your mate, unless you’ve changed your mind?” Suddenly, she wasn’t so sure anymore. Truthfully, she still couldn’t figure out what someone who looked like him wanted with someone like her. But he had showered her with all the love and attention she ever wanted over the past two weeks. How could she not want him?

  His mouth came down on hers in a searing kiss that was meant to be a possession. He made love to her mouth, tangling tongues with her, stroking the recesses of her mouth, nibbling on her lips. When he finally let her up for air, the love shining in his eyes threatened to put her in tears. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she had someone who loved her for who she was. She had someone who would cherish her and take care of her. Love her unconditionally.

  “Baby, I need you to be sure, because once I start, there won’t be any stopping. Are you sure you’re ready to be my mate? Will you do the blood exchange with me?” They had discussed the blood exchange already. Donte had explained that he would drink a little of her blood, then make a small cut on himself and she would drink a tiny bit of his blood. He explained it would not make her a vampire, but it would give her some of the perks he enjoyed, including advanced healing powers.

  She reached up to touch his cheek. “Yes, Donte, I’m ready. I am ready to be yours.” She wound both arms around his neck, nibbling under his chin.

  He grabbed the sides of her head and looked into her eyes. “I love you, Cassie. I am so thankful Walter sent me to bring you here. I hate the circumstances surrounding our meeting, but I am sure glad that fate decided to step in and make sure the two of us found each other.” He stopped for a moment, and Cassie could tell that whatever he was getting ready to say was important.

  “I solemnly promise to love, cuidar y proteger (cherish and protect) you, Cassie Vicors, every day of my life. I will always be there for you.” Then he stated the words she longed to hear, “I love you, mi amor.”

  He picked her up as if she weighed nothing and marched into the bedroom. Gently sitting her on the bed, he reached down and whipped her shirt off before she could blink. She had a bra on, a pretty bright pink lace that had her hard nipples poking through already.

  He leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss while he reached around her back to unhook the bra. Breaking off the kiss, he placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back until she was reclining comfortably on the bed. Then he plucked one of her breasts into his mouth, while slowly working her pants down her body.

  His mouth felt so good on her breast, her hands came up to hold his head against her. He broke off a moment later with a grin. He placed her hands on either side of her head as he leaned down to kiss her lips. Then he sprung off the bed and had her pants completely removed before she could blink.

  Standing up straight, he made quick work of removing his own clothing. Cassie watched his every move. Talk about yummy and delicious! He was gorgeous, and her mouth watered with every piece of clothing he removed. When he was standing proudly before her, without a stitch of clothing on, she merely looked her fill for a moment. Then she sat up, her hand coming up to gently cup his balls. His dick looked so hard and the skin surrounding it looked stretched to the limit. He was both long and thick, and she remembered the pleasure he had given her a few weeks ago with his mouth and tongue. Now it was her turn. She wanted a taste.

  A bead of liquid sat at the top of the slit on his engorged cock, she leaned over and quickly lapped it up. He was both sweet and salty, and she found herself hungering for more. She glanced up into his face to see him watching her cautiously.

  She ran her tongue up the underside of his cock, stopping at the slit at the top and coaxing another drop of liquid from him. She wrapped her lips around the head and gently sucked, her hand still gently massaging his balls.

  “Oh, baby, damn, you’ve got a malvado little mouth on you,” he hissed out as she began sucking more and more of his cock into her mouth. Her tongue licked the underside of his cock as her head began to bob up and down, taking more of his cock into her mouth each time.

  She was just starting to get into the rhythm of things when his hands came down and stopped her head from moving. Uh-oh, I should have told him I gag when someone tries to force a cock down my throat. She’d had a few bad experiences with guys getting carried away and forcing her to deep throat them. Unfortunately, it didn’t matter where in the relationship they were, whether first date or twentieth, forcing their cocks down her throat usually resulted in her throwing up. She hated that, but every time this happened her anger always came to the forefront. She figured if they wanted to act like a caveman, so could she. She took great pleasure in tossing her cookies directly on top of her partner, in payment for their highhanded treatment of her. Yeah, two could play those games. She usually heard something to the effect of, “WTF,” and that generally signaled the end of the relationship.

  She really didn’t want that to happen with Donte. He’d been so nice and sweet to her. Just as she braced herself, sure he was going to take over and start forcing her to take all of him, he surprised her. He yanked his dick completely out of her mouth, lightly grabbing ahold of her chin.

  “Hey, nobody asked you to suck my cock. I certainly didn’t expect it. So, why did your scent suddenly change to one of fear and anger?”

  Tears prickled at her eyes as her face colored with embarrassment. She cast her eyes downward, unable to look at him as she confessed. “I’m sorry, Donte. I was enjoying what I was doing, but when you put your hands on my head, I thought you were getting ready to force it down my throat.”

  “Force it down?” Anger surged through him unlike anything he could ever remember feeling, as he realized what she was telling him.

  “Look at me, cariño, someone has done this to you, yes?” She bit her bottom lip, a slight nod of her head her reply.

  “First of all, I want his name, because he won’t be alive much longer. Second,” he paused as he looked into her eyes, “when we are making love, it is just you and I, mi amor. There is no room for anyone else, do you understand me?”

  “Yes, I’m sorry, Donte. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt before I hit the panic button.” She laid her head on his lower stomach, placing a soft kiss on his skin. “I’m so sorry, Donte.”

  Donte placed a loving hand on her head, stroking her hair. “It’s okay, cariño. You didn’t know what to expect, and having had a bad experience…”

  “It was more than one,” she whispered.

  “Damn, it’s a wonder you even wanted to put your mouth anywhere near my cock.” He used his hand at the back of her head to tilt her face upwards. “Just for the record, cariño, I have never, nor will I ever force you to do anything you don’t want to do. Those men are idiotas!”

  Silence followed as Donte tried to calm the anger raging inside like an inferno. He wanted to go hunt down every man that had ever wronged his mate and extract vengeance for the way they had treated her.

  Once he felt his temper was under control, he looked down into her eyes. “Promise me that if I ever do something that makes you uncomfortable, you will tell me. I love you, I want to make a life with you, but there are bound to be things that pop up now and then that I don’t know about you. Don’t be afraid to tell me, cariño. We are one, yes?”

  “Yes, Donte, we are one.” She wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, pressing herself up against him, as tears pricked her eyes. She sent a silent thank you to fate for bringing this wonderful man into her life.

  “Now, just you and me in this bed
room, okay?”

  “Yes, baby, just you and me. Have I ruined things for you?” she asked cautiously.

  “Definitivamente no, just don’t any unwanted otros.” He shot her a grin then leaned down and kissed her. It started as a sweet kiss, but the fire that had been banked just a few short minutes ago came raging back to life for both of them. He ran his fingertips up and down her spine as he deepened the kiss, exploring every crevice in her mouth.

  He finally broke free of her mouth. “Ahh, mi amor, Seré tuya para siempre, y serás mía. (I will be yours forever, and you will be mine.)

  The whispered words did nothing but cause the fire that was burning within to burn brighter, hotter.

  “Yes, Donte. Always and forever.”

  He laid her back down on the bed, following her down, but making sure his weight stayed off the top of her. “Baby, I’m game for just about anything. You tell me what position won’t put you in any unnecessary pain with your wound.”

  She glanced up into his eyes, too embarrassed to admit that she hadn’t tried any other positions than plain ‘ole missionary style. Oh, she’d read about plenty of other positions, but truth of matter was that especially up against her mate, who was a couple of hundred years old—and she didn’t even want to think about how much experience he had with that age!—she was just a baby. Her sexual experiences had been far and few between, and most were nothing to write home about.

  She shrugged her shoulders, hoping he wouldn’t make her admit her naivety. “You choose, Donte, because I honestly don’t know.”

  Donte watched her face for just a moment. Obviously, she’d forgotten he could read her thoughts as long as he was touching her, and after the interruption of the blowjob, he had full intentions of staying in her mind. Now, he watched her very limited sexual experience cross her mind before she threw those thoughts straight out of her head. Good girl, she wasn’t allowing anything or anyone interrupt them. She seemed more worried that he would be upset over her lack of experience.